The Eastern Red Cedar tree is important to many Native American communities, not only for its medicinal properties but also for its ceremonial and practical uses. From making furniture and carvings from wood to using the bark of this tree as a dye for coloring mats, this tree is useful.
About Eastern Red Cedar
This fragrant evergreen tree can grow up to 90 feet high and is native to eastern North America including Canada. It can be found growing as far south as the Gulf of Mexico and west to the Great Plains. It grows in a conical shape, that almost looks like a pyramid, especially when it is young. The bark is soft and silvery and peels off in long flexible strips. The finely cut leaves of this tree are blue-green to gray-green and branches are red-brown. The paper-like male cones are yellow-brown and female cones are dark blue or blue-purple and look like berries. There are one to three seeds per cone. This tree flowers in March and April and the fruits and seeds are ripe from October through November. Many nations used various parts of this tree in ceremonies.
Varied Uses
Many Native American communities used the Eastern Red Cedar tree for its fragrance and burned it like incense. The Lakota, for example, burned leaves and twigs at funerals. It was burned in sweat lodges during purification ceremonies. The wood was considered valuable and used to make fence posts, furniture, and carvings. The reddish bark was processed and used as a dye, and many tribes dyed mats. The berries for many Native American communities were used as a source of food. The fruit and leaves were given to horses that were coughing. The Kiowa made love flutes from the scented red heartwood of this tree. The Navajo used the wood to make a wand to carry in certain ceremonies and the Ojibwa used the wood and bark to make dwellings. The Omaha burned parts of this tree and used the smoke in a variety of ceremonies, mostly purification rites. Flutes made from this tree are highly prized, especially by the Cherokee.
Medicinal Uses
The most common use of Eastern Red Cedar was to inhale the smoke of burning leaves and twigs or to make tea from the berries to treat coughs, colds, and sore throats. The Cherokee made an infusion and took it for colds. An ointment was made to treat skin irritations The Chippewa and the Iroquois made a compound decoction of twigs and used the steam to ease the pain of rheumatism. The Comanche burned the wood and inhaled the smoke for purification. The Dakota, Pawnee, Omaha, Seminole, and Iroquois burned twigs and inhaled the smoke to ease colds. The Kiowa chewed the berries to ease the pain of sores in their mouths. The Lakota burned leaves and inhaled the smoke to relieve head colds. They also ate the berries to relieve thirst. The Ojibwa ate the berries and leaves to relieve headaches and the Pawnee inhaled the smoke from burning twigs to treat bad dreams and anxiety. The Ponca made a decoction of the fruits and leaves and took it to stop coughing. The Rappahannock made a compound infusion of berries to treat respiratory illnesses. The Seminole used a combination of leaves to treat headaches and sore eyes. They also burned leaves to treat dizziness, swollen legs, and sore muscles and joints. Some women drank red cedar tea to help them with childbirth.
Did You Know...
The Eastern Red Cedar Tree is also known as red cedar, savin, cedar apple, Virginia juniper, and eastern juniper.
The Eastern Red Cedar Tree is technically a juniper, as indicated by its name, Juniperus virginiana.
The largest known Eastern Red Cedar Tree is 75 feet wide and 57 feet tall. It is located in Georgia.
Wildlife is attracted to the blue-colored berries and some birds use the tree for their nests because it provides a dense cover.
Cedarwood essential oil is used in aromatherapy today.
Cedarwood is used today as an insect repellent and is an effect deterrent for moths.
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